In the narrative of the third day’s play could be seen the story of Ottis Gibson’s West Indies’ project. For four hours his team held England at bay, showing more application and stomach for the fight than, for example, India’s celebrities displayed at any stage last summer. And then, in two horrible hours, with England swarming all over them demonstrating the kind of ruthlessness that characterises all top-class teams, all that good work was forgotten.

The final session of the day was a brutal one for the touring team. They lost four wickets in wiping out the first-innings deficit, but